Dr. April Love-Fordham

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Intolerant – I’m owning it!

People I love are being told lies. They are being told that climate change isn’t real and we don’t need laws to protect mother earth. They are being told that immigrants are dangerous and that we don’t need to offer them a homeland where we have plenty of food and jobs. They are being told that healthcare is a luxury for the rich and the poor don’t deserve it. They are being told that capital punishment is God’s way — and that people of color deserve it more often than white people do. They are being told that transgender people are scary and don’t have the right to choose which bathroom to go to. They are being taught that the most important thing is to win – to be great. When, in truth, the most important thing is to be a servant.

In the end, these lies will kill us all – if we believe them.

The Apostle Paul was one who called out wrong when he saw it. Yet, in so many of our churches we have given ourselves permission to hide behind tolerance rather than expressing our love for others by saying, “Hey, that is just plain wrong!”

Not Paul!

Paul was intolerant. You see, the people he loved were being told lies about God and the way they should live. He knew these lies would reduce their lives, impair the vitality of their spirits, and cripple them with anxiety and fear. These lies would make them slaves and Paul wanted them to be free. Free to love. The truth will set us free.

Not much has changed.

I am going to be intolerant of lies told to people I love (and I choose to love all of you). I will own this kind of intolerance proudly! It’s like Paul told the Galatians:

“I will not continue to try and please people, because I am a servant of Christ”

(Gal 1:10).

Be intolerant of lies, but do it always with love, kindness, gentleness, and respect!

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